Jim Miara and family moved to Needham 30 years ago, primarily because of the school system's stellar reputation. We were not disappointed. Kids have moved on, but Needham offers a little extra. Jim Miara is an award-winning journalist who has
...

Jim Miara and family moved to Needham 30 years ago, primarily because of the school system's stellar reputation. We were not disappointed. Kids have moved on, but Needham offers a little extra. Jim Miara is an award-winning journalist who has written for the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, Banker&Tradesman, the Boston Business Journal and Urban Land Magazine.

Alex Hassan is back in the Pawtucket Red Sox lineup, and the Milton outfielder is raking again. Hassan, 25, the former Boston College High School star who went on to a standout career at Duke, only returned to the active list last Friday with the PawSox, but he's come back with a lively bat.

In Hassan's first game with the Red Sox' triple-A affiliate, he got two hits in three at-bats, including a double and the game-winning rbi. In Saturday's game at McCoy Stadium, broke up a Buffalo no-hitter with his eighth-inning home run, the only tally in an eventual 2-1 PawSox loss. Sunday afternoon, with 8775 fans on hand for the Father's Day matinee, Hassan stroked a line drive down the left field line for a first inning double that plated two runs, helping the home team to an eventual 5-3 victory over the Bisons.

Hassan, who had been crusing along with an impressive first season at AAA, went down with a freak injury last August 14, as he suffered a serious laceration to his left shin while sliding. Subsequently the wound became infected, and Hassan was sidelined as his teammates went on to win the International League championship. But up to that point, Hassan had led the PawSox with his .377 on-base percentage, and his .256 batting average included hitting over .300 in June and August. Renowned for his patience and pitch selection, Hassan drew 55 walks in his abbreviated season. In the field, Hassan was charged with just a single error in the 88 games he played in the field.

All of which would've seemed to presage a big 2013 season, even with all the young outfield talent at Pawtucket this season. The PawSox outfield corps includes hot prospects Jackie Bradley Jr., Bryce Brentz, and Jeremy Hazelbaker, as well as former Kansas City Royal Mitch Maier. But what is interesting, and no doubt an insight into the big club's thinking, at this point only Bradley Jr. and Hassan are on the BoSox official 40-man roster.

But with all that going for him, Hassan was sidelined once again by an unusual leg injury, as a severe calf strain--in the other leg from the one that was hurt last summer--put him on the shelf before Opening Day. While he was able to do some basic conditioning and strength work, Hassan couldn't really get his season going until the calf was strong enough to go full speed.

"It was definitely frustrating, and I couldn't do a lot of baseball workouts," said Hassan. "I just had to try and keep myself as prepared, and mentally prepared, as I could."

Earlier this month, Hassan got the go-ahead from the PawSox medical and phyisical therapy staff, and was able to embark on a rehab assignment with the Greenville Drive, the Red Sox' single-A affiliate. It is safe to say the rest of the single-A league will not miss Hassan, as he batted .478 in his eight game stint there, connecting at an 11-for-23 rate, with two doubles, seven rbi, on top of ten walks, and just two strikeouts.

"I'm glad I was able to get the time in Greenville, and things went well," said Hassan. "And it definitely felt good to finally get back out there and play baseball."

Yesterday's double looked like the start of another big day offensively, but after grounding out to shortstop in the third inning, Hassan--who'd been serving as DH--was replaced in the fifth. He had felt a little twinge in the calf while running the bases, and since he's still playing in his first dozen games of the year, caution seemed to be the best route.

"It just cramped up a little, but there's no problem, really," said Hassan. "It has felt good through all the games I've played so far, and I think this was just a minor thing, just a cramp."

"Alex felt a little tightness in there, coming around third base, and we decided to take no chances," said Pawtucket manager Gary DiSarcina. "The biggest thing to remember is that we are not yet even halfway through the schedule, with a lot of baseball to play, so why chance setting him back? He's had to battle that calf thing for two months or so, and there's no sense in forcing it now. It is a different issue, a different leg, than what sidelined him last season, so there's no real connection. We're glad to have him back."

Since Hassan's batting stats stood at 4-for-eight, with two doubles and a home run, with four rbi, it's reasonable to assume Pawtucket will find room in the lineup for him, despite the glut of outfield talent. And the Milton kid is surely eager to get back to playing everyday, after a long stretch of buzzard's luck.

"Absolutely, I'm ready to get out there every time I can," said Hassan, as he packed a carton of bats for the upcoming Pawtucket road trip. "Everything feels good."

KNUCKLEBALLER CONROL: The big pitching story Sunday afternoon was Pawtucket's righthander knuckleballer Steven Wright, who picked up the win with eight innings of superb work. Wright held Buffalo to five hits and one run, while fanning seven and walking none. That last stat might be the most meaningful, as like all knuckleballers, maintaining control is the most difficult aspect for Wright.

"Steven threw his knuckleball in the strike zone all day," said DiSarcina. "Slowly but surely, he's been getting better at that, and to see him able to do it for seven or eight innings is really encouraging. It is much easier for the catcher to catch it, when he throws it in the zone. Steven has done it in spurts before, but then that control disappears on him now and then. To see him able to do it consistently like that for eight innings is a really positive sign. He throws knucklers probably 75-80 percent of the time, when he's behind in the count or any situation, so having that kind of command is really crucial."

Wright's mound work was almost in jeopardy when the Bisons rallied against reliever Chris Martin. Old pal Mauro Gomez, who played for Pawtucket and Boston last year, crushed a Martin serve over the left field bullpen for a two run homer in the ninth, for the Bisons to make the final score 5-3. It was the 18th round-tripper this season for Gomez, while two more Buffalo belters, Luis Jimenez and Jim Negrych, are both batting a lusty .341 so far.

"No lead is safe against that team," DiSarcian said of the Bisons, a Toronto affiliate. "With Gomez, Jimenez and Negrych, that's a veteran lineup that can put up some runs in a hurry."